THE TELAGIC FAUXA AND FLORA. 201 



carefully exjilored with the tow-net, to see what pelagic animals 

 might be found there ; they were Calanus, Sagitta, annelid lar- 

 vae, hydroid medusse, Squillse embryos, Salpse, and a few radiola- 

 rians. The cylinder, filled with water which had been strained 

 through fine muslin, was then fastened to the dredging wire, 

 and lowered, so as to collect the animals between five and fifty 

 fathoms. The time taken by the cylinder in passing thi'ough 

 that space was twenty-eight seconds. It was then drawn up, 

 and the sieves and gauze trap washed with water, which had also 

 previously been strained through fine muslin. The water was 

 carefully examined; it contained the very same things which 

 had a short time before been brought together with the tow-net 

 and the scoop-net : nothing different was obtained by the cylin- 

 der. The radiolarians (two genera) were perhaps more numer- 

 ous. A sHght breeze having sprung up after the surface collec- 

 tions had been examined, the cylinder was operated a second 

 time at this same station, adjusted for a depth of fifty to a hun- 

 dred fathoms. Not only in this experiment, but in all the sub- 

 sequent ones, the same precautions were taken in regard to 

 straining the water which filled the cylinder at the start, as well 

 as that used for washing out the sieve and the gauze trap. 

 The messenger sent to detach and open the machine occupied 

 twenty-one seconds in reaching the fifty-fathom point to which 

 the cylinder was attached, and the cylinder thirty seconds in 

 passing to the stop at one hundred fathoms. On examining the 

 sieves, the more common surface forms, Calanus, Sagitta, anne- 

 lid larvse, hydroid medusae, and Squillse embryos, were wanting, 

 and only two radiolarians of the same species as those from 

 the upper levels were found. Nothing additional was brought 

 up. The cylinder was lowered a third time to a depth of one 

 hundred fathoms, the messenger occupied 45" to open it, and 

 the cylinder travelled from a hundred to a hundred and fifty 

 fathoms (time 45"), so as to gather the animal life to be obtained 

 between these limits. On drawing up the cylinder and wash- 

 ing out the sieve of the trap, not only did we find that the 

 water contained nothing different from what had been brought 

 together by the cyHnder from the lesser depth, but it did not 

 include even a single radiolarian. 



